Synopsis

Plot

The episode begins with Gumball and Darwin attempting to watch a cat video, but the video is not loading. Anais then comes into the room and asks her brothers whether they're having problems with the wi-fi; she gets a response from Gumball that confirms that he is indeed having problems with the Internet. At that moment, Richard walks into the room dressed as a dark elf stating that he was booted off his online game, and then he promptly asks if the wi-fi is working properly. When his children confirm that the wi-fi is down, Richard reveals that he stole the Robinsons' password several years ago, and that the Wattersons have been using their wi-fi since.

After being shamed by his children for such actions, Richard explains they can't get their own wifi since they have bad credit and leaves to the kitchen to grab a soda from the refrigerator; meanwhile, the children struggle to find some new source of entertainment. An indeterminate period of pondering later, Gumball recalls another form of entertainment: books. Gumball picks up a dictionary, and he and Darwin pursue to get some entertainment value out of it; it doesn't take long, however, for the two to realize that they're quite bored by it. Anais then suggest that the duo try to imitate the internet in some other fashion.

Darwin uses cardboard and some pictures to try to recreate the Elmoreflix experience of staring at thumbnails for hours. Shortly after, Gumball kicks a package box to his brother into the living room to imitate the email system; when Darwin opens up the package, he gets a "video" (some crudely drawn pictures) of his dad suffering from a lawn chair accident, and he proceeds to chuckle at them. Later in the day, Gumball receives an "email" from Darwin revealing that Gumball accidentally sent the "video" to his father in the hospital. Promptly, Darwin then "video-calls" (carries around cardboard cutout of a video-chatting interface) his distressed pal, advising him to apologize to their father only for Richard to burst into the room laughing about the message he received, clueless on the fact the message was mocking him.

Trying to re-create the online gaming experience, Gumball and Darwin play a game of Scrabble while dishing out insults akin to the insults typically heard in an online video game. Once Gumball scores 32 points with the word "Xenopus," Darwin concludes that Scrabble is a terribly boring game and that only the insults made it interesting.

Some time passes, and Larry is seen joyously humming around Food N' Stuff until he notices all the negative reviews left on some of the products. It turns out all the reviews were a result of the Watterson brothers' vain attempt to troll him. Once thrown out of the store, Gumball believes he can change his IP address by rebooting his router, but the process of rebooting just results in him banging himself in the head repeatedly with a piece of scrap wood.

The next day at school, Gumball walks into the cafeteria shouting that he has just arrived. The cat is trying to emulate the Elmore Plus experience, and Darwin points out that Gumball would need to be jealously looking at other people's photos in order to have the full experience. Shortly after Gumball's awkward attempt to imitate Internet lingo, the boys find a seat next to Ocho; the two then proceed to pester Ocho to grab his attention. When they realize that they can't get a thumbs up from Ocho due to his lack of thumbs, Gumball tries to get a "like" out of the spider by pretending to be a sick boy; when that fails, Gumball and Darwin try to "poke" him for attention. Pestered enough, Ocho explains he isn't in the mood for shenanigans because of his sick grandma; Gumball "likes" that, but since it is not the Internet, Ocho doesn't take that very well, and begins to deliberate on ways to "delete" his two friends in real life. Scared for their lives, Gumball and Darwin make a run for it.

Desperate, the two brothers sit on their front lawn crowdfunding so that they can afford their own internet. Anais scoffs at her older brothers' sad attempt to basically beg for money; her mood quickly changes, however, once she hears her father calling her so that he can take her to the park. Anais insists that Gumball and Darwin hack Mr. Robinson themselves and get the internet back as Richard relies on the Internet for parenting tips, and without the internet, he struggles to parent properly.

Gumball and Darwin are booted into cyberspace where they advance to the Robinson household. However, they are denied access into the area, so the two try to enter via his backdoor. Despite some difficulties with getting the window to maximize, the two manage to get in, but it is at this moment where the firewall activates. Realizing that they must act quickly, Gumball determines that the two should use a Trojan horse to get past the security.

Although the brothers manage to get into Mr. Robinson's files, the anti-virus detects them; in order to avoid detection, the two compress their files into some of the folders. Once they both successfully evade the anti-virus and decompress their files, the two realize that they must get Mr. Robinson to accept cookies.

Their attempts to have Mr. Robinson accept the Internet cookies prove fruitless, so the two prepare to use worms. Before they can begin using worms, Anais calls out the boys, bringing attention to the fact they were never in cyberspace, and their adventure was all in their heads. Not amused, Anais decides to pull out Mr. Robinson's laptop and handle the problem herself. Once the laptop is opened, though, she realizes that Mr. Robinson never changed his password, and that he has simply been using up all the bandwidth with useless toolbars. Quickly, Anais tries to remove all of the toolbars before Mrs. Robinson spots them; she manages to complete the task with just enough time for her and her brothers to escape.

Once home, the children are excited to use the internet again. These dreams, however, are quickly dashed once their home runs out of electricity.

Cultural References

Gumball failing to use a book because he is unable to look for instructions online is a reference to a real-life phenomenon known as the "Google effect," a tendency to forget information as a result of relying on Internet search engines.

One of the websites Darwin recreates, "Elmoreflix," is a reference to the video-on-demand service Netflix.

Darwin's cardboard frame is painted to look like the Skype video call interface.

In their room, Gumball and Darwin play a game similar to the word game Scrabble.

Gumball and Darwin's sticky note reviews around the mall are a parody of customer reviews on shopping websites such as Amazon, which can be sarcastic or humorous at times.

Larry yells symbols out loud instead of swearing. Although this type of censor was initially used in comics, this could be a reference to profanity filters seen on some Internet forums, chat rooms and online games.

He specifically bans the Wattersons from the store, as if on a forum or in-game.

Gumball says "LMBO" is the acronym of "Laughing My Butt Off." This is similar to "LMAO," a common Internet acronym meaning "Laughing My Ass Off."

Darwin says his face has "hashtag no filter," a tag indicating an unaltered image on the photo-sharing service Instagram.

Gumball pretending to be a sick child for likes is similar to sick baby hoaxes found on social network websites.

Gumball and Darwin "poke" Ocho to catch his attention and "like" his statement about his sick grandmother, much like the Facebook features of the same name.

Gumball and Darwin's begging perks are a reference to reward tiers found on crowdfunding websites such as Kickstarter.

The BoxDrop which falls on Gumball is a reference to the cloud storage service Dropbox.

In cyberspace, several references to real-life computer features or programs can be found:

Gumball says Mr. Robinson keeps a tidy desktop. The whole world happens to resemble a desktop, complete with windows, folders and toolbars. A command prompt can also be seen.

Random pieces of codes are written in a language resembling Basic or HTML.

When Gumball and Darwin go incognito mode to hide their identity, it is a reference to the actual incognito mode for Google Chrome which allows users to browse online anonymously.

In the beginning, when Richard is dressed up as his character, he may be a Dark Elf from the popular RPG Skyrim, as he calls himself a Dark Elf. However, Skyrim is a single-player game, and he refers to a raid, which may mean he is referring to Night Elves from the MMO World of Warcraft.

A piece of code briefly seen in the background reads "HATE >> 9000," likely a reference to the Dragon Ball Z "Over 9000" meme.

Goofs/Errors

Gumball's whiskers are missing when he and Darwin first enter the Robinsons' house.

When Larry is reading the review for a sledgehammer, near the top of the note, it is misspelled as "sledhammer."

Trawlr is spelled "Trawler" in this episode.

In cyberspace, Gumball and Darwin can be seen breaking a glass on the cabinet as a Trojan Horse. But in reality, the glass can't be seen.

Darwin: Meh, the insults are on point, but the gameplay is boring and the graphics are terrible.

Real socializing

[Larry is walking through the aisle of a store in the mall. He notices a sticky note]

Larry: Huh?

[He takes the note and starts reading it]

Larry: "I bought these ping pong balls two months ago, and was shocked when they turned into small chickens. I have to say they don't function as well as the more common ping pong balls, and it's very hard to give backspin to a chicken." What is this?

[Larry keeps walking, only to discover more notes on the shelves. He takes another one]

Larry: "Very disappointing. I purchased this sledhammer to enjoy the snowy slopes of Vermont and only managed to slide a couple inches. I would not purchase again." What the hashtag, dollar sign, at-sign, asterisk is going on here?!

[In the pet store, Gumball writes something on a sticky note. Darwin stands next to him with a fish tank on his head]

Gumball: "This tank is completely unsuitable for modern warfare. Though the glass panels provide a wide field of vision, I worry my fish'll be exposed to enemy fire."

[Gumball sticks the note onto the fish tank]

Darwin: Dude, Larry's coming!

Gumball: Nah, it's fine. The beauty of trolling is that you're anonymous.

[Larry throws them out of the store]

Larry: You Wattersons are banned! Thank you for shopping at Food N' Stuff.

Gumball: Don't worry. All I have to do is change my IP address.

Darwin: How?

Gumball: You reboot your router.

[Gumball picks up a plank from the floor and hits his face with it]

Darwin: Did it work?

Gumball: No. I still remember my name.

[He hits his face again, and ends up groaning on the floor]

Darwin: Maybe we just move on.

[Gumball and Darwin walk into the school cafeteria as the bell rings]

Gumball: [Shouting] Gumball just checked into the cafeteria!

Darwin: What are you doing?

Gumball: Exactly what I do on Elmore Plus.

Darwin: What, looking at people's pictures and being jealous of their lives?

[Gumball snorts and his butt falls off]

Darwin: What was that?

Gumball: LMBO! Laughing my butt off?

Darwin: You forgot the laughing bit.

Gumball: Nah, no one really laughs on the Internet. They just go: [Snorts]

[They go sit with Ocho]

Gumball: [Shouting] I am walking to a table! Hey, look at my food! [Shoves his food tray into Ocho's face] Look at it, you like it?

Darwin: [Puts his face against Ocho's] You like my face? Hashtag no filter! Come on, gimme a thumbs up.

[They look a Ocho, waiting for a reaction]

Gumball: Dude, he doesn't have thumbs. I'll try something else.

[Gumball takes spaghetti from a tray and smears it onto his face]

Gumball: This boy was diagnosed with a rare condition. One like equals one prayer. Ignore if you don't care about his pain.

Enter the cyberspace

[Gumball and Darwin sit in the front yard of their house. Anais rides up to them on her tricycle]

Anais: What are you guys up to?

Gumball: We're crowdfunding to pay for our own Internet.

Anais: I think you mean you're begging.

Gumball: No, it's not begging if you offer perks.

Anais: What perks?

Darwin: For one dollar, you get a verbal thank you.

Gumball: For ten dollars, you get a smile and a warm feeling in your heart.

Anais: Yeah, that's begging.

Richard: [From inside the house] Anais!

Anais: We really need that wi-fi back. Dad usually looks online for tips on raising kids, but now he has to improvise.

[Richard opens the door, with a leash in hand]

Richard: Mom said I have to take you to the park!

Anais: You're gonna have to hack Mr. Robinson to get the password.

[Richard retracts the leash, slowly dragging Anais towards him]

Gumball: How?

Anais: Ow! I left instructions for you!

Gumball: Where?

Anais: Check your BoxDrop!

[Richard and Anais go back inside]

Gumball: What's a BoxDro—

[A large cardboard box falls directly onto Gumball]

[Gumball and Darwin materialize into the digital world]

Darwin: What is this place?

Gumball: This is cyberspace, Darwin. Better switch to incognito mode so the cyberpolice can't trace us.

[A menu appears, allowing them to go incognito, and while walking towards the Robinsons' house they come across what seems to be a floating face]

Darwin: Who's that?

Gumball: Probably a fellow hacker. We should greet him in a friendly fashion.

[Gumball kisses both sides of the face and they start walking again]

Gumball: This is Robinson's house!

[Gumball tries to open the front door, but an error message wipes them. They materialize again]

Darwin: Access denied?! How do we get in?

Gumball: Anais says we need to find a backdoor.

[They walk through the backyard and towards the house again]

Gumball: You gotta hand it to Mr. Robinson, he keeps a tidy desktop.

Darwin: Look, he left a window open!

[Gumball helps Darwin climb through the window]

Darwin: Almost there!

[While reaching for the top of the window, Darwin accidentally minimizes it and gets stuck]

Darwin: Ah! Do something!

[Gumball points a finger at Darwin and laughs]

Darwin: Do something useful!

Gumball: Oh, sorry.

[Gumball tries to push Darwin in, to no avail]

Darwin: Maximize the window!

[Gumball presses the button to maximize the window, but nothing happens. He starts mashing it]

Gumball: It's not working! Oh, hold on.

[The window maximizes and minimizes repeatedly, hitting Darwin's back over and over. When it eventually stops, he glares at Gumball]

Gumball: Sorry, buddy. I should've known that clicking faster never works.

[Clicking noises are heard]

Darwin: What's that?

Gumball: [Gasps] The firewall!

[A flame bursts under Gumball's feet, forcing him to jump through the window and into the house]

Gumball: Quick! We don't have much time before someone spots us!

Darwin: What do we do?

Gumball: We're gonna have to use a Trojan horse.

[Gumball and Darwin walk through the house wearing a horse costume. They have trouble moving, resulting in them breaking a few vases and running into walls]

Darwin: I have trouble seeing how this will save us from being detected.

[Mrs. Robinson is heard approaching]

Darwin: [Gasps] The antivirus!

Gumball: Where?

[Darwin's arm reaches out of the horse costume]

Darwin: There!

[Mrs. Robinson appears as a floating head shooting lasers from her eyes]

Gumball: Quick, let's hide in one of these folders!

Darwin: We won't fit!

Gumball: We can compress our files.

[A menu comes up, compressing them until they fit in the folders. Mrs. Robinson floats past them, but when they extract themselves from the folders their appearance is different]

Gumball: [Distorted voice] I think our f-f-files got c-corrupted!

Darwin: [Distorted voice] What n-n-now?

Gumball: Hit control-Z!

[They undo until they turn into DNA strands]

Gumball: [High-pitched voice] Too far! Control-Y!

[They redo, and manage to recover their appearances]

Gumball: [Normal voice] Now for Anais' next step. We need to get Mr. Robinson to accept cookies.

[Gumball is stuffing files into a sleeping Mr. Robinson's mouth]

Gumball: Hm, nothing's happening.

Darwin: Maybe 'cause he's in sleep mode.

Gumball: Let's try a worm.

Reclaiming the internet

[Gumball takes another file when he is interrupted by Anais, looking in through the window]

Anais: Guys! What are you doing?!

[The world returns to its normal, non-digital appearance, showing Gumball has in fact filled Mr. Robinson's mouth with cookies. Darwin holds a bowl of worms]

Gumball: Hacking Mr. Robinson, like you said.

Anais: I meant hack his computer, not his face. What exactly have you been doing this whole time?

[They flash back to the moment Gumball kissed a floating face, only in the real world it was Hank's butt]

Gumball: How do you do, good sir?

[Then, Gumball is seen sliding the window up and down on Darwin's back. The firewall turned out to be the barbecue bursting into flames. Gumball and Darwin were walking through a corridor with their eyes closed, breaking a flower pot on the way]

Darwin: The antivirus!

Margaret Robinson: Meh.

[Mrs. Robinson is seen as well, revealing the laser-shooting eyes were only a cleaning product she sprayed on a window. Finally, the flashback stops]

Gumball: Yeah, well you shoulda been more specific.

Anais: Lemme in.

[Anais takes Mr. Robinsons' laptop and turns it on. It chimes]

Anais: That's weird, he never changed his password. Wait a minute, the wi-fi isn't down. He's using all of it up with all these stupid toolbars!

[Mr. Robinson groans slightly]

Gumball: Well, fix it then. Quick!

[As Anais removes the toolbars one by one, an alarm clock rings next to Mr. Robinson. Mr. Robinson starts to grumble, almost beginning to wake up]

Anais: I need more time!

Gumball: I got this. All I have to do is hack into the mainframe, adjust the power options, and put it to sleep.

Anais: What?

[Gumball presses the snooze button. The alarm stops]

Anais: Oh, that was less stupid than I thought it was gonna be.

[Mrs. Robinson's voice is heard offscreen as she walks in their direction. Gumball, Darwin, and Anais gasp. Thanks to Anais deleting all of the toolbars, the wi-fi comes back on and they are able to leave through the window without being seen]

Margaret Robinson: Meh-meh-meh.

[Mrs. Robinson notices nothing. She cleans Mr. Robinson, as he is still sleeping]

The Internet is back

[Screen fades to nighttime. Gumball, Darwin and Anais run into their room and sit in front of the computer]

Gumball, Darwin & Anais: Yay, the Internet is back!

Gumball: We can get back to refusing invites from obscure relatives to play lame games on Elmore Plus!